[Rusty]

Yes, a girl who enjoys activities traditionally associated with boys is a tomboy.

In American English, 'tomboy' is never a derogatory term. This is a girl that just happens to like doing what boys like to do (playing sports, climbing trees, building tree houses or skating ramps, skipping stones while out camping or rafting, climbing mountains, etc.).

A tomboy is the opposite of a 'girly girl'. Girly girls are all about fashion (when younger, they play with dolls, have tea parties, try on dresses, hats, and high heels). They will put on designer jeans and will try their hand at makeup early on.


Some sites say that in Mexico (and Guatemala) they prefer to use machetona instead of marimacho (which, as Angélica said, means 'a lesbian'). Meanwhile, in Spain, marimacho isn't considered pejorative.

Others in Spain do think that marimacho isn't the right word, suggesting that chicazo works well. In other countries, they like chicote and chicota. But you can't count on using these terms universally. Some will say the words are derogatory, while others don't think they are.


A good definition of a girl who likes to do what boys like to do is «niña poco feminina». Another is «niña un poco masculina». (You can use other adverbs to get the right 'degree' (muy, bastante, etc.). You can also say [I]«niña muy chico».)

Best bet: Describe the girl and then ask locals what word they use.